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I watched my father can vegetables all through my childhood and when I was in high school he taught me the wonderful process of preserving food. I have been canning for over thirty years, and I never get tired of it.
The equipment for canning is very simple and not expensive. You need a good supply of pint or quart jars, jar rings and seals. All these are available at most grocery stores, usually during the canning season which is middle to late summer and in the fall. If you are a person who loves to go to yard and garage sales, keep your eye out for canning jars, you can usually get them at a real bargain. You can use the jars and rings over and over again, but seals have to be thrown away after use and new ones purchased for your next caning batch. Jars come in regular and wide mouthed sizes. Wide mouthed are best used for larger vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes.
You will also need a sharp, all-purpose knife and a smaller knife for peeling fruits and vegetables. A canner for fruits and a pressure canner for vegetables are also needed. You will need tongs for lifting the jars out of the canner. Some other items that will come in handy are a wire basket for blanching tomatoes and fruits, pot holders, and measuring cups and spoons.
Be sure to check the manufacturers requirements included with your jars for altitude listings and processing times. It cannot be stressed enough that vegetables must be processed according to the required processing time to ensure food is safe for eating. Also check the guide for how much produce is needed for each quart jar. To can okra it will take one and on-half pounds to fill one quart jar.
Vegetables and fruits should be as fresh as possible and processed quickly. Wash both to remove all dirt and possible insects and cut away any bad spots. Rinse several times. It is not recommended to leave produce immersed in water as it can absorb it; but I will dip them in Fruit-Fresh or dissolved in water or lemon juice and water to help prevent the produce from turning brown before I can process it.
Wash jars and rings in hot sudsy water and rinse thoroughly. Fill jars with warm water or keep them in an oven on low temperature. You want your jars hot when you put hot produce in them to avoid the jars breaking or cracking. I also boil my seals for a few minutes, leaving them in the water, even though it has cooled, until ready. These are in a cardboard box, on a shelf in a store for months and can come in contact with all types of bacteria. I never touch the seals with my bare hands once they have been in the boiling water. I will use tongs to pick them up and lay them on the jars when ready to process.
Try to fill the warm jars with the same size produce. If smaller and larger pieces are in the same jar, the smaller ones could become overcooked during the processing or the larger ones undercooked.
Produce can be packed into jars either raw or partially cooked. This is referred to as cold and hot pack. Jars with starchy vegetables such as corn and beans should be filled to within one and one-half inch from the top. Non-starchy vegetables, like spinach, should be packed to within one inch from the top. Fill jars with boiling water covering produce completely to within one-half to one inch from the top. You can then add salt at this time, if you prefer. Insert a clean knife into the packed jar to remove air bubbles. Check canning recipes to get exact measurements.
Either boil water in the pressure canner or add boiling water to a depth recommended by the manufacturer. Place the jars on the wire rack included with your canner, cover and place on high heat. It is important that the jars do not touch each other in the canner as they could break. When steam emerges steadily from the pressure canner, close the petcock and allow the pressure to reach ten pounds. Lower the heat and process according to the recommended time for the particular vegetable you are canning.
When the processing time is completed, turn off the heat and allow the gauge to fall to zero. Open lid and carefully remove the jars. Be careful not to expose the jars to any type of draft as the sudden change in temperature may cause the jars to break. When you hear a pop, the jars have sealed. Although these usually pop fairly quickly, it may take several hours.
If your jars do not seal, you can change the seals and process again or eat right away. If you notice foaming or frothing at the top of the jar or a bad odor when you open the vegetables that have been canned, do not taste them. I take no chances and dispose of the vegetable, container and all.
My friends enjoy getting home canned vegetables, salsas and jellies as gifts from me, especially when the vegetables are home grown.
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Author Bio Box: Agnes Farside
 http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/110407/agnes_farside.html
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